I had to leave. I wanted to be as far away from Fran as I could.
We'd just had a fight. The kind of fight Mom and Pop used to have.
I don't know what started it. Everything she said was dead on the money. Every word from her lips made my teeth grind. When she finished, I exploded. She fired back.
Then something changed inside me. I felt my fist clench, just like Pop before he let Ma have it.
I split.
I'm in a world of hurt. My ribs, knees, my entire body hurts. I needed some pills, bad. I wandered the streets. Going nowhere, just walking.
I stood on the corner down the street from Mocha Daze for a good half hour before I went in, later in the evening.
Greg was sitting in a booth. He motioned for me to join him.
I did.
"She's just concerned about you," Greg said. ãI am, too."
He patted my shoulder.
"I know," I said. " I gotta find some steady work."
"Hugo needs someone."
"Yeah," I said. "But, looking the way I do right now? Hell, I wouldn't hire me."
"Think about it. Hugoâs pretty understanding. You never know.ã
Greg dropped me off.
"Thanks, again, " I said.
"Talk to Hugo tomorrow."
I gave him a thumbs up sign, went up the walk and unlocked the front door.
I stepped inside.
Before Fran could say anything, I stuck out the flowers I'd gotten her.
She mumbled a quiet, surprised ãThanksä and walked into the kitchen to put them in water. 
